By Dom Langello
The Western New England men’s basketball team opened the CCC tournament with a dominant performance against the Curry College Colonels on February 20, 2024. The Golden Bears won their first-round matchup handily, 91-50.
Greene played 19 minutes, scoring 11 points and pulling down five rebounds. Harrison contributed an excellent offensive performance, tallying nine points, seven assists, and nine rebounds. He seemed on pace for a triple-double, but Coach Colin Tabb opted to rest him and save his strength for the next round of the tournament.
This game was never close on the scoreboard. The Golden Bears led 50-22 at halftime, giving the team the feeling that they would be moving on to the semifinals. Coach Colin Tabb did not want his team to take their foot off the gas pedal in the second half, though, pouring on another 41 points. With the game seemingly out of reach for Curry to come back, various players got to put their skills on display for an excited Golden Bear crowd.
The depth of talent on the Golden Bear’s roster proved to be way too much for Curry to handle, with the team’s bench scoring 36 of its 91 points. Freshman guard Will Laplante’s two deep three-pointers brought the crowd to its feet, while sophomore guards Matt Houde and Nate Kasper combined for eight points in the blowout win.
Freshman forward Omar Abutaleb was asked about what this win means for the expectations of the team. “A dominant win like this puts us in a good position in terms of momentum,” said freshman forward Omar Abutaleb. “As is, we have plenty of motivation for the final game, if we make it there against Nichols, due to our rivalry.”
Nichols College, the 1st seed in the tournament, is the clear-cut best team in the CCC. They finished the season with a 22-3 record and have some of the quickest, most explosive players in the conference.
The momentum from the game against Curry suggests a bright future for the Bears. “A season like this really does help show what our program is capable of,” said Abutaleb. “We’re able to compete at the top rank of our division and we plan to continue it into next season. I know Coach Tabb is going to have a good recruiting class and we will be able to set ourselves up, and hopefully be in an even better situation next year. Everything this year is just helping us push forward in the right direction right now.”
The players have lots of faith in Coach Tabb, and rightfully so. Tabb, in his ninth season as the Golden Bears’ head coach, is widely regarded for his ability to develop players and put consistently competitive teams on the court.
The sky is the limit for the 2023-2024 Western New England University Men’s Basketball squad. And with the success they’ve been having lately, expect to see the Golden Bears continue to be successful as this season comes to a close and as they push to the CCC playoff tournament final.
